Death in the Machine: Miserist full album stream

Not your older brother’s death industrial (although they’d fit quite nicely on that Aussie-dominated Cold Meat Industry tribute comp that IBP & NWN! recently snuck out), the mysterious Australian force known as Miserist, formerly Headwar, barrage the listener with crushing guitars, concussive drums, and seem to have about as much remorse as the thresher has for grain it chews up and spits out. And they’re entirely instrumental, too; thus leaving a harrowing void where at least some semblance of humanity is typically found in even the most extreme death metal bands. Within minutes of Miserist’s debut, however, it’s clear that the rules have changed.

The yet-to-be-revealed opener “Skin, Mold & Flame” initiates the nightmare like some lost Incantation demo track remixed by Bohren & der Club of Gore. While the also yet-to-be-streamed “Horror Infinitum” begins like a Caretaker song only to become something more akin to the sonic equivalent of a jolt from a defibrillator that’s hooked up to Portal’s amps.

“The first track I recorded was ‘Narikuntu,’” says the person behind Miserist. “I’d just watched a documentary on a mental asylum for kids, and I thought of what it would be like in there, treated like an animal, trapped in dark rooms with people that could kill you, rape you or defecate on you at any second. Just pure misery. This is what I thought of while recording these tracks and I used this as a theme for the album. It was mixed from February 2015 until March 2016, but most of the guitar was recorded in a few weeks. I was in a dark place and after seeing that documentary it just all spilled out. I added to it bit by bit, added other sounds, and everything else over time. Each track name had meaning to that.”